Government mulling over merging Anti-Profiteering Authority with CCI

Government mulling over merging Anti-Profiteering Authority with CCI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier extended the tenure of the body till November 2020

The Government of India is mulling over merging the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA), the Goods and Services Tax (GST) watchdog, with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by this year-end.

The move comes as GST's tenure has expired, even as 400 cases about customer complaints regarding non-receipt of tax cut benefits, are pending.

(CCI is the chief national competition regulator within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002, and investigates cases to see if there is an adverse effect on competition in India).

According to a CCI official, the merger is an attempt to reduce the number of statutory bodies for customers' convenience. CCI would take up the cases pending with NAA, the statutory body, after the merger.

NAA was constituted by the Central government to protect consumers from the random price increase for self-interest in the name of GST. Under Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, its objective is to ensure that the reduction in the rate of tax or the benefit of Input Tax Credit (ITC) is passed on to the recipient.

During the 35th GST Council Meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman extended the tenure of the body till November 2020. It had received several complaints of profiteering by companies.

Since the constitutionality of NAA has been under challenge before many courts, it is hoped that the merger could lighten the litigation burden for the Central government.